Baron

Baron is the sixth rank of the Imperial aristocracy, following the first true Noble title of Baronet. A Baron is a lesser Noble that rules a considerable territory in the name of some greater Liege. Often, the demense of a Baron is something on the order of two or three adjacent star systems.

Responsibilities
A barony is generally a middle-range Imperial territory, which is relatively developed compared to non-Imperial human colonies, but still falls some degree short of being truly metropolitan. Often, a barony is a region which has only recently been "tamed" from being wild or controlled by savages, and still lacks fully-developed space stations or infrastructure.

A Baron is chiefly responsible for finalizing the modernization and cultural development of their territory, and are rarely called to service during times of war. It is well-understood that most baronies could ill afford to give up half or more of their defense forces to an Imperial Crusade, lest they run the risk of losing control of their own region.

Expectations
Upon developing a world to the extent that they might be able to leave for extended periods and trust that their demense would run according to design, the region is declared "Magna Imperia" or "Greater Empire" and is fully integrated into all trade networks and census calculations. When this happens, the nearest Count takes on the Baron as a subject. At this point, the Baron is allowed to take on Pages and Squires, and often begins to spend much of his time at one of the Imperial Courts, such as that on Terra or Crielere.

After developing fully, to the point of appointing a Castellan to completely administrate and defend their territory at all times, the region reaches the level where they are expected to provide military and economic support during Crusades or wars, and is declared a Viscounty, and the Baron becomes a Viscount.